'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Breaks November Box Office Opening Record With $181M

Photo by: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

On its path to set box office records, Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pounced on its competitors over the weekend.

The superhero sequel, which debuted in theaters throughout the country on November 11, made $180 million domestically and $150 million internationally, dethroning Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam as the top movie, according to Variety.

“It’s an outstanding result. The first film represented such a major cultural milestone that its performance would have been challenging to follow even under normal circumstances,” box office analyst Shawn Robbins said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Wakanda Forever also broke the domestic November record, defeating The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’s $158 million haul from 2013.

Following Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which brought in $187.4 million over its opening weekend in May, Wakanda Forever currently has the second-highest opening weekend in 2022.

It’s impossible to avoid comparisons to the groundbreaking original Black Panther movie. The way the sequel pays tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman is arguably its most touching component.

Boseman who played the role of T’Challa, died in 2020 at the age of 43 from a severe form of colon cancer.

“This performance from a sequel almost five years later speaks to the trust audiences have in [Director] Ryan Coogler, Marvel, and the entire creative team to continue the story in a respectful way after Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing. It’s an opportunity for everyone to say goodbye to him together as the franchise moves forward with his legacy at the heart of it,” Robbins stated.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that Wakanda Forever debuted less than 11% behind the 2018 movie that went on to become not only a cultural touchstone but a global success.

Black Panther made $202 million in the home market on its first weekend and more than $1.34 billion worldwide.

Even yet, Wakanda Forever is the 13th most popular domestic launch.

Over the weekend, several A-listers and fans swarmed theaters throughout the nation.

Take a look at who supported the film below.